Dr Marco Spada

Marco is an architect (ARB / RIBA) and urban planner, holds a PhD in Architecture, Theories and Project from Sapienza University of Rome, with a thesis on the relationship between memory and design in the rehabilitation of industrial plants.

He was previously Senior Lecturer in Architecture at University of Suffolk, teaching Design, Contextual Studies, and Dissertation, and Honorary Associate at the Department of Geography and Planning of the University of Liverpool, where he studied the implications of post-industrial regeneration dynamics on urban and built environment.

He studied architecture in Italy and the UK (BSc, MSc, PhD, SFHEA) and specialises in urban narrative and complex sustainability, having studied at Roma Tre University, the University of Liverpool, and the Gdańsk University of Technology.

He carried out research activities in Italy, Poland, Kenya and the United Kingdom. Specialised in urban narrativity, sustainability and circular economy, he worked in Milan as Project Manager and Design Consultant. In 2022, Marco has also obtained a Horizon Grant [https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101095119] to study the impact of steel mills on local communities. Thanks to this funding, he was able to conduct field research, exploring how the steel industry has impacted the relationship between industrial plants and the local communities.

• English
• Italian

Marco's research focuses on the interaction between the built environment and culture, seeking to explore how urban narratives can contribute to creating more sustainable and inclusive cities. In particular, Marco is interested in the role of architecture in the recovery and redevelopment of degraded urban fabrics, studying the impact of industrial activities on the built environment and the lives of local communities. In 2018, Marco won the award for best young architecture critic, confirming the value of his research and publications. His work has been presented at numerous international conferences and published in important scientific journals.

Among his most recent research projects, Marco recently published a book on Gordon Cullen, the English urbanist and author of the famous Townscape, published in 1961. In this text, Cullen proposed a new vision of the city based on the idea of the “urban landscape”, emphasizing the importance of considering the built environment as a set of visual and sensory elements that contribute to defining the identity and quality of life of the city. Marco is working on a critical reinterpretation of Cullen’s text, seeking to identify the implications of his vision for contemporary architecture and urban planning practices. Additionally, he has published articles on the dome of the Church of Sant’Ignazio di Loyola in Rome and the Olivetti offices in the UK designed by Ted Cullinan in 1972/73.

• Industrial and post-industrial architecture and urban regeneration
• Industrial heritage, adaptive reuse and the regeneration of degraded urban areas
• Urban design, urban narratives and the relationship between memory, place and identity
• Architecture and the social, cultural and environmental impacts of industrial development
• Sustainable and circular approaches to the built environment and urban regeneration
• History and theory of contemporary architecture and urban design
• Community, health and wellbeing in post-industrial environments
• Visual and narrative approaches to analysing cities and urban landscapes
• Architecture, landscape and the representation of place
• Inclusive and socially sustainable approaches to urban development

2026/2027

• Design Studio A 1 & 2
• Cultural Context A
• Cultural Context C

PGCAP in Higher Education (2021), University of Suffolk.

PhD in Architecture (October 2012 - December 2015), Sapienza Università di Roma, Department of Architecture and Design (DIAP).

Honorary Associate (November 2015 – June 2016), School of Geography and Planning, University of Liverpool.

Master in Architecture and Urban Planning, 2010, Università Roma Tre.

Bachelor in Architecture, 2008, Università Roma Tre.

• Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), Affiliate Member.
• ARB Registered Architect.

UE/UKRI Horizon Grant, a toolkit for dynaMic health Impact analysiS to predicT disability-Related costs in the Aging population based on three case studies of steeL-industry exposed areas in Europe, 2023-2026. Value: £150,000.

Cullen, G. (2026) Gordon Cullen’s townscape in USA. Edited by C. Molinari and Spada, M. Abingdon: Routledge.

Frescura, A. and Spada, M. (2026) ‘The transitional sensorium of Taranto Tamburi: navigating urban space through serial visions, sounds, and smells’, Urban Geography, pp. 1–11. doi: 10.1080/02723638.2026.2703066.

Spada, M. and Molinari, C. (2025) ‘The Greater Peterborough City Centre Plan. Gordon Cullen and the cinematics of British Townscape’, Urban, Planning and Transport Research, 13(1). doi: 10.1080/21650020.2025.2597585.

Zhao, H., Spada, M. and Bortone, I. (2025) ‘ Urban environments’ impacts on aging in post-industrial cities: reviewing the pathways to healthy aging’. Frontiers in Medicine, 12, p.1613587.